This invention relates generally to sound producing dolls and particularly to those which emit sound in response to appendage manipulation.
Dolls which speak or otherwise produce sound effects are well known in the art and have become very popular. With the advent of low cost, high performance, mass produceable digital electronic sound circuitry, a dramatic growth in the number and variety of sound producing dolls has occurred. Such digital electronic sound systems facilitate fabricating virtually an entire sound producing circuit within a single integrated circuit xe2x80x9cchipxe2x80x9d. When such small digital electronic sound apparatus is combined with correspondingly small, low cost audio transducers such as piezo-electric devices, even the smallest and lowest cost doll may be enhanced with sound producing features.
Many sound producing dolls utilize a plurality of switches distributed about the doll body which are operatively coupled to the sound producing circuit. Often, different switches trigger the production of different sounds. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,977,292 issued to Favilli, et al. sets forth a FIGURE TOY HAVING TUNED SOUND PRODUCERS AND INDICIA in which sound producers are supported in different parts of a figure toy and are identified by visible indicia such that different tones may be produced in a predetermined sequence. The sound producers may produce musical notes, vowels or the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,755,960 issued to Tepper, et al. sets forth a DOLL GIVING PARTICULAR VOCAL RESPONSES TO MOVEMENT OF PARTICULAR APPENDAGES in which a doll includes a sound producing apparatus together with a variety of switch means actuated by appendage movement. Each switch when actuated evokes a different sound output from the sound circuitry.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,950,200 issued to Curran sets forth a WHISPERING DOLL having a human child-like doll having a switch located in the chest area and a switch supported in the hand. In response to switch manipulation, a tape mechanism within the doll plays a whispered message.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,376,038 issued to Arad, et al. sets forth a DOLL WITH PROGRAMMABLE SPEECH ACTIVATED BY PRESSURE ON PARTICULAR PARTS OF HEAD AND BODY in which a doll supports a sound producing apparatus and a plurality of switches located about the body. Various educational speech is programmed into the sound apparatus and is spoken as different parts of the body are manipulated.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,172 issued to Basile sets forth a DOLL INCLUDING RECORDED MESSAGE in which a doll supports a motorized appendage for providing a caress. A recorder supported within the doll provides a personal audible message to be played back.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,501,627 issued to Ekstein sets forth a CHILDRENS TOY WITH PEEK-A-BOO ACTIVATION having a doll supporting a pair of light sensors on the exterior face thereon and a sound producing apparatus within the doll body. The light sensors detect the proximity of a child""s face and trigger the sound production.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,738,561 issued to Pracas sets forth a TALKING DOLL having a microphone and sound recording device together with a playback device and speaker supported within the doll body. A plurality of contacts or buttons are supported about the doll body to activate the recording and playback apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,213 issued to Goodwin sets forth a READING TOY having a toy animal figure supporting a sound producing apparatus therein having a plurality of stored messages. The toy includes an appendage for holding a book and a plurality of pressure switches operative to cause portions of the text to be audiblized.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,162,980 issued to Hellman sets forth a TALKING DOLL AND THE LIKE in which an example of an early sound producing doll is shown.
In related education and therapeutic arts, U.S. Pat. No. 5,738,526 issued to Cerda, et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,710,145 issued to Hall Vandis and U.S. Pat. No. 4,249,338 issued to Wexler set forth examples of such use of speaking dolls.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,954 issued to Terzian, et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,027 issued to Yokoi set forth related doll apparatus which includes sound effects.
While the foregoing described prior art devices have to some extent improved the art and have in some instances enjoyed commercial success, there remains nonetheless a continuing need for evermore improved, interesting and amusing talking and sound producing dolls.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved talking doll. It is a more particular object of the present invention to provide an improved talking doll having a variety of sound effects which provides an interesting and amusing play pattern.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a toy figure comprising: a body having a torso and a head; a sound circuit having a stored plurality of audible sounds and an electro-acoustic transducer; a pair of arms slidably supported by the torso each movable between an inward position and an outward position and each having an interior arm end; a pair of legs slidably supported by the torso each movable between an inward position and an outward position and each having an interior leg end; a first pair of switches operatively coupled to the sound circuit, the first pair of switches supported within the torso at positions causing the switches to be actuated by movement of the arms between the inward position and the outward position; a second pair of switches operatively coupled to the sound circuit, the second pair of switches supported within the torso at positions causing the switches to be actuated by movement of the legs between the inward position and the outward position, the sound circuit responding to actuation of the switches in the first and second pairs of switches to produce audible sound.